A crash box is described in European Patent No. EP 1 792 786 A2, having a housing-like deformation profile having a flange plate on the side of the longitudinal chassis beam, and is designed as a folded structure made of sheet metal. The deformation profile is composed of two shell components, a flange plate section being integrally molded onto each shell component. The shell components are folded from sheet metal blanks, then combined and joined together with the aid of resistance welding points. This represents a conventional crash box without any adaptation to a collision process. However, such an adaptation is described in German Patent No. DE 197 45 656 A1, for example. An impact absorber for a motor vehicle is described therein, it being possible to control a deformation as a function of a pre-collision signal, i.e., a signal of a panoramic vision sensor system such as a radar sensor system, or an impact signal. Sliders are moved on a deformation element perpendicular to the direction of force, and therefore block the deformation elements, so that due to the action of force these deformation elements degrade collision energy by plastic deformation caused by the blocking. Adaptation to the collision process is possible via a parallel arrangement or by intercombination of such deformation elements. As another example, it is proposed to use a deformation element for the degradation of collision energy, with the aid of tapering. One element is fixed for the tapering, and another element may be released by a slider in order to reduce the tapering.
The slider moves radially, i.e., perpendicularly to the direction of force and thus to the longitudinal axis of the deformation element, which is usually a cylinder having a predefined wall thickness.